JEREMY CORBYN’S YEAR in charge of Britain’s Labour Party has been marked by a string of controversies, ranging from Brexit and the national anthem to a row with billionaire businessman Richard Branson.
Here are some of his highest-profile squabbles as Corbyn prepares for an expected triumph at the party’s annual conference today against a leadership challenge backed by rebellious Labour MPs.
National anthem
On 15 September 2015, three days after being elected party chief, Corbyn hit the headlines for refusing to sing the UK national anthem God Save the Queen at a World War II commemoration event.
Tabloid newspapers let loose on the new socialist leader. The Sun ran with headline “Corb snubs Queen”, while the Daily Star splashed with “Corby a zero: Leftie refuses to sing national anthem” on its front page.
Speculation mounted as to whether long-time republican Corbyn would join the Privy Council, an elite constitutional group that advises Queen Elizabeth II, and which usually counts the Leader of Her Majesty’s Opposition as a member.
It wasn’t until November that it emerged Corbyn had joined the council, but The Guardian reported he had avoided kneeling before the queen while taking the oath, a tradition dating back to Tudor times.
No to nukes
The decision whether to renew Britain’s fleet of Trident nuclear submarines soon exposed rifts between Corbyn – a veteran pacifist who is nevertheless reluctant to criticise Russia – and many of his MPs.
The party leader insisted he would “never” push the nuclear button if elected prime minister, causing “great concern” to Chief of Defence Staff Nicholas Houghton, who warned such a stance “completely undermined” the point of a nuclear deterrent.
Parliament in July overwhelmingly voted to replace the ageing submarines that carry the arsenal, shortly after Prime Minister Theresa May came to power.
Brexit
Corbyn’s lacklustre performance in campaigning to keep Britain in the European Union — the party’s official position – raised questions over his true loyalties and broke the uneasy truce between Labour’s leadership and its MPs.
Many within the party questioned whether their leader, who spoke out against EU free-trade policies for decades, was actually in favour of Brexit and partly blamed him for the fact that 37% of Labour supporters voted to leave the union.
Former minister Peter Mandelson accused him of “sabotaging” Labour’s campaign to stay in the bloc, claims that weren’t helped when Corbyn’s brother was seen at a pro-Brexit party on the night of the vote.
Following the 23 June referendum, parliamentarians immediately launched a no-confidence vote against their leader, which passed with around 80% support.
Israel-Islamic State comparison
A week after the EU referendum, Corbyn invited further criticism by drawing equivalence between Israel and “so-called Islamic states”, interpreted by some as a reference to the Islamic State jihadist group.
The Labour leader hoped to quash claims that the party had a problem with anti-Semitism by commissioning an independent report, but caused further upset with the comments made at its launch. He said:
Our Jewish friends are no more responsible for the actions of Israel or the Netanyahu government that our Muslim friends are for so-called Islamic states or organisations.
Britain’s chief rabbi immediately called the remarks “offensive”, while a Jewish Labour MP left the presentation in tears after being singled out for sharp criticism by a guest speaker as Corbyn watched.
It followed a string of antisemitic allegations about the party’s leadership.
The train
Last month Corbyn, as long-time campaigner for railway renationalisation, recorded a video sat on the floor of the 11.11am Virgin Trains service from London to Newcastle, claiming there were no seats on the “ram-packed” carriages.
“Passengers across Britain will have been in similar situations on overcrowded, expensive trains,” he said, blaming the current system.
But the plot thickened when billionaire businessman Richard Branson, owner of Virgin Trains, released CCTV footage apparently showing Corbyn walking past several unoccupied seats before setting up camp on the floor.
The Labour leader was initially unavailable for comment, his team revealing he was busy “making jam” at home, but later said he was forced to sit on the floor as he was unable to find two neighbouring seats for him and his wife.
Political journalists dubbed it Traingate.
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